exploring clt possibilities in a professional development program
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Presentation for the event: "Updating and Exploring CLT Possibilities for the 21st Century"TRANSCRIPT
Frank GiraldoMasters in English Didactics
University of Caldas
Exploring CLT possibilities in a
Professional Development
Program for In-service English
Language Teachers
A Professional Development Program
In-service / Pre-service English language teachers’ classroom
performance
Qualitative Action Research
What is the effect of a Professional Development Program on the in-service and pre-service English
language teachers’ classroom performance in an English
language institute?
• Find out nature of impact of PDP on the teachers’ classroom performance.
Question and Purpose
Rationale
• Learning to reflectto work collaborativelyto analyze and change
experience
• Educating teachersin a post-method pedagogyon context-sensitive grounds
SLTE
6 teachers’ professionalism in
ELT
Teacher Educator
SETTING
Problem: Birth of action research cycle
Needs identified among in-service teachers
Reflection and awareness upon own classroom practice
Practice of current language teaching methodologies
Awareness on the importance of student motivation and participation in class
Approach to grammar teaching
Tasks for different learning styles and strategies
What is the effect of a Professional Development Program on the in-service/pre-service English language teachers’ classroom performance in an English language institute?
To improve the teaching performance of in-service and pre-service English language teachers through the implementation of a professional development program.
General Objective
Specific Objectives
1. To increase teachers’ awareness about their own classroom practice.
2. To strengthen the teachers’ practice of current methodologies for language teaching.
3. To raise teachers’ awareness on the importance of students’ motivation and participation in class.
4. To promote a principled approach to grammar teaching. 5. To foster the inclusion of tasks for different learning styles and
strategies.
Theoretical Framework
Professional Development:Freeman, 1989Villegas-Reimers, 2003Diaz-Maggioli, 2004Richards and Farrell, 2005Wilde, 2010
Curriculum Development:Brown, 1995
Richards, 2001Nation and Macalister, 2010
Teacher Performance:Ur, 1991Brown, 2001Harmer, 2007Westwood, 2008Ontario’s Educational Board, 2010Richards, 2011
Reflective Teaching:Cruickshank, 1981
Zeichner, 1982Bartlett, 1990
Richards and Lockhart, 1994Ur, 1991
Harmer, 2007b
Theoretical Framework
Current Methodologies for Language Teaching:
Stryker and Leaver, 1997Richards and Rodgers, 2001Bingham and Skehan, 2002Brown, 2007Harmer, 2007b
Student Motivation and Participation:
Ur, 1991Lightbown and Spada, 2006Harmer, 2007aDörnyei and Ushioda, 2011
Grammar teaching:Ur, 1991Thornbury, 1999Brown, 2007
Learner Styles/Learning Strategies:Lightbown and Spada, 2006
Oxford, 1990; 2003
Theoretical Framework
Álvarez and Prada2005
Sierra2007
Cadavid, Quinchía, and Díaz 2009
MethodologyApproach
Naturalistic
Anti-positivist
Idiographic
Burrell and Morgan, 1979
MethodologyQualitative
Creswell, 1979
MethodAction
ResearchCarr and Kemmis, 1983
DIAGNOSTIC
STAGE
Needs identified among in-service teachers
Reflection and awareness upon own classroom practice
Practice of current language teaching methodologies
Awareness on the importance of student motivation and participation in class
Approach to grammar teaching
Tasks for different learning styles and strategies
ACTION
EVALUATION
STAGES
The Professional Development Program
• 7 sessions, 3 hours, weekly• Praxizing (Sharkey, 2009)• Activities:- Discussions of readings assigned prior to workshops- Tutor presentations- Class observations: live and videoed- Planning, executing and reflecting upon lessons- Learning activities- Talks by experts; talks with students
SAMPLE PDP
LESSON
SAMPLE DATA
• The in-service teachers made effective connections between theory and practice through the design of a lesson plan. This practical activity demanded conscious work from them.• There were contradictions between what
they said they did and what they really did in their teaching. The analysis of their own lesson plan helped them reach that conclusion. • There was an increasing awareness towards
Communicative Language Teaching.
• The tutor guidance was key for good results. When I interacted with them, the practical activity was more enriching.
• Observation went well because it combined theory and practice.
• The lesson plan with activities from the three current methodologies helped them relate theory and practice.
• There was more individual attention to every single in-service teacher.
• There was an increasing awareness on structuring activities more logically.
Participant # 2
• S/He has changed his/her teaching.• S/He has more theory to apply in classes
and has positive results among students.• S/He has been able to become aware of
his/her and his/her students’ progress. • S/He has applied all current
methodologies for language teaching. S/He didn’t do it before but is now. S/He has seen the results.
Participant # 2
• S/He has increased his/her interest in these methodologies and has applied them, which s/he didn’t do before.
• S/He has developed strong interests towards task-based language teaching and in general towards all current methodologies for language teaching.
Participant 4Observation 1:Students use language structures meaningfully and to interact with others. Language at the oral level is then used for a writing product, which means activities are coherent somehow. Observation 2:Your grammar teaching is improving continuously and the pacing is consistent. Lesson coherence: between eliciting parts of a house, describing your own as support and listening activity, and the students talking about their own house, coherence was high.
Observation 1:Give tasks a clear communicative goal. They wrote the routine to show you their linguistic competences, which is perfectly fine. In CLT and TBLT, what would they do this for? Observation 2:The way they did the writing was only for language display purposes, not for communication.
Participant 4
“So, for example, when I would give my lesson on Saturday, and then we would have the course on Thursday, and it was about a certain, you know, concept or something, then I would reflect if I have done it, if I haven’t done it; if I should do it better, how should I do it better? So, I would be constantly reflecting, you know, on what I already know and how I can improve that, and yeah.”
Extract from an interview.
FINDING
On classroom performance
Holistic view of languagePrincipled approach to grammar teachingStructured, coherent teachingPlanning based on current methodologiesCare for students’ needs and motivation
FINDINGOn awareness of teaching and classroom
performanceNoticeable improvement in grammar teachingBeginning practice in methodologies for ELTSensitivity towards students’ needs and
motivationsStrategy-based instructionCoherent teaching
FINDINGOn the Professional Development Program as a Reason
for ImprovementSuccessful combination of theory and practice:- Theory and classroom activities- Experiential learning activities- Talks by experts- Practical planning activities- Reflection upon teaching
Role of teacher educator- Feedback on practical planning activities: making sense of theory- Observation cycle: Pre, while, post (reflection in action)- Reflection on action: Theorizing from practice
Conclusions and
recommendations
1Professional development programs do have an impact on teachers’ classroom performance.
Conditions for this to happen:•Teachers’ prior knowledge.•Particular contexts.•Sensitive to teachers’ needs.•Not a top-down agenda.•Careful needs analysis: Experience, knowledge, beliefs, skills.
2Theory and practice have a symbiotic relationship in professional development programs, and this relationship directly benefits teachers’ classroom practice.
But how?•Teachers using, criticizing and adding to theory.•Bringing improvement thanks to reflection.•Theory: reflects teaching needs, explicit use of it in workshops; meaningful use of it; practice and follow-up.
3The teacher educator plays an important role in helping teachers improve.
What should this role be like?•Focus on strengths and aspects to improve. •Connect theory and practice: Critical questions. •F2F contact; monitoring plan: Observation system •Talking about teaching; making sense of theory.•Professional growth and feedback for PDP.
Special recommendation
4Licenciaturas should consider the findings in this AR study.
Use them how?
•Subjects combining theory and practice.•Attention to practicum courses.
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